Questions Raised About Fatal Traffic Accident In Iceland Today

More details have come in regarding the traffic accident that claimed three lives this morning, but the exact cause remains a mystery.

Vísir reports that tour guide and former sports reporter Adolf Ingi Erlingsson was one of the first on the scene of this morning’s fatal car accident. As reported, there were seven people in the vehicle when it went off the bridge over the Núpsá river in South Iceland, killing three—not four, as previously reported by the police.

It has now come to light that the seven—four adults and three children—were all part of two families, and are British citizens. A child is amongst the deceased. Two adults and two children, aged seven and nine, are in hospital in Reykjavík with serious injuries.

RÚV further reports that as they are British citizens of Indian origin, both the British and Indian embassies have been on the case. Armstrong Changsan, the Indian ambassador to Iceland, visited the Landspítali hospital today, where he spoke with hospital staff and the chaplain before contacting family members in India.

While Route 1 just east of Kirkjubæjarklaustur was temporarily closed while police and other emergency first responders attended to the scene, the road is now open again. Questions remain, though, as to how the accident happened in the first place.

The weather in South Iceland was not inclement when the accident occurred, nor was there any ice on the bridge. How the vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, drove off the side of the bridge is unknown, especially as the bridge is reinforced on both sides by high guard rails.

The condition of the injured is still unknown at the time of this reporting, and the identities of the deceased have not been released. The injured have been transported to Reykjavík for emergency care.

This article has been updated.